Edmonton and Alberta

The Prentice government has picked the wrong priorities by boosting money for health ministry communications and strategy at the same time it is cutting funds to deliver care, NDP Leader Rachel Notley...

Political analyst says that with a new poll suggesting the Wildrose and Progressive Conservatives are in dead heat and the NDP set to sweep Edmonton, the premier may have second thoughts about calling an early election.

A 68-year-old woman who went missing from Red Deer County two weeks ago has been found dead in a remote area south of Evansburg. Police do not believe her death is suspicious. Roze Burk’s vehicle was spotted on Friday about 35 kilometres south of Evansburg by RCMP officers conducting an air search for a separate operation.

Months after federal inspectors say critical food safety checks were quietly cut at meat processors in Alberta, one of the province’s largest plants is having to recall frozen chicken breasts that may be tainted with potentially-fatal listeria. While a Canadian Food Inspection Agency investigation at a Lilydale Inc. facility has yet to determine how the […]

A brand new building in Ponoka that was going to open soon as a gymnastics and trampoline club was trashed and vandalized with anti-Semitic messages Saturday night. On Monday, Ponoka RCMP found similar messages spray-painted onto a small white school bus belonging to the Ponoka Composite High School nearby.

At least the Edmonton Oilers are determined to cause some misery elsewhere. Take the Colorado Avalanche, who were talking Monday morning about winning out so they could at least stay in the playoff conversation.

Rows of mature apple trees, tall spruce and elms — neighbours get ticked off when developers clearcut lots in mature neighbourhoods. But as city hall prepares to wade into the debate, it’s already clear that mandating the preservation of trees on private property is a touchy issue.

The provincial government has axed a $6-million program that provided home repair grants for thousands of seniors, and replaced it with a deferred home equity loan program that could benefit hundreds of thousands.

A Quebec man is facing several fraud-related charges after he allegedly used numerous faulty credit cards to make fraudulent purchases at businesses across Edmonton this month. Francis Roberge, 30, has been charged with fraud under $5,000, possession of credit card data and possession of identity documents, among other offences.

A 27-year-old Edmonton man is facing two murder charges in connection with a fatal shooting in this city and another unrelated shooting in a bedroom community south of Vancouver. On March 3, Sean Jennings was charged with second-degree murder and four other firearms-related offences for the alleged killing of Alor Arop Deng, 27, on July 20, 2014, Edmonton police said in a news release.

University of Alberta engineering students have designed and built robotic vehicles capable of navigating a maze, using on-board cameras to identify targets along the route and cross a finish line within a set time in Edmonton.
Video by Bruce Edwards, Edmonton Journal.

New renderings for the MacEwan Centre for the Arts downtown now sport a funky splash of lime green in the piano-themed facade. The new renderings are part of cost-cutting measures released last week that also saw the pedway eliminated and a planned public plaza turned to grass. But that flash of lime green is what caught our eye here at the Journal.

Danielle Smith walked slowly to the podium Saturday evening. Minutes earlier, PC party officials told her she lost the nomination race for Highwood — her riding — to a relatively unknown opponent. The former Wildrose leader, lips pursed, husband by her side, delivered her concession speech — possibly her last as a politician. “The outcome […]

An Edmonton businessman who is determined to keep his own children from driving distracted has created a device that he says delays texts, phone calls, social media messages and other alerts until a vehicle is in park. Angus Poulain, a father of six, said he got the idea for his KRS, or Keeping Roads Safe, device about four years ago because his kids spent so much time texting and communicating through social media. He has 15-year-old twins who hope to get their drivers’ licences soon.

The latest provincial budget imposes grant cuts worth millions of dollars to Edmonton’s Catholic and public school boards, money schools use to support some of the districts’ most vulnerable students, board officials say. Next September, the Edmonton public school board expects to have about 2,700 more students but will have the same number of teachers, said board chair Michael Janz.

A one-time Tory candidate is being barred by the Progressive Conservative party from running in Chestermere-Rocky View, leaving former Wildrose MLA Bruce McAllister to be acclaimed as the PC candidate.

The 2015-16 provincial budget unveiled last week is expected to have a number of implications for the Alberta health system. While much of the attention focused on the cut imposed on Alberta Health Services, here are five other important spending decisions.

Former Wildrose leader Danielle Smith, once the darling of Alberta’s political right who nearly toppled the PC dynasty three years ago, lost the PC nomination race in her riding of Highwood on Saturday. Smith, who along with eight other Wildrose MLAs, defected to the PC party in stunning fashion late last year, lost her bid […]

Brian Jean is the new leader of the Wildrose Party. The former Conservative MP for Fort McMurray-Athabasca took 55 per cent of the vote to defeat Cypress-Medicine Hat MLA Drew Barnes and former Strathcona County mayor Linda Osinchuk, the party announced in front of about 300 members at the Sheraton Cavalier. The new leader will face two monumental […]

After six months of cold and snow, it’s no wonder spring break is tied for the second-busiest time at Edmonton International Airport. The holiday for schools trails only the Christmas rush for the number of travellers.

Strictly speaking, the game of bocce doesn’t start off with big hugs. But warming hearts and having fun were all part of the first tournament at Clark Field on Saturday. On a cold blustery day, about 50 people joined Edmonton Coun. Scott McKeen, a man determined to get people out of stuffy homes and into the fine fresh air “to learn how to play.”

Gas, booze and cigarettes aren’t the only items with prices on the rise in Alberta. Tickets to some of Edmonton’s music festivals are going up between $5 and $26 this summer, thanks to the sinking Canadian dollar.

The government will spend slightly more than $1 million to open three new Parent Link Centres in three communities, including Edmonton, Minister of Human Services Heather Klimchuk said during a news conference Friday.

While Edmonton lawyers called it a “shell game,” lawyers for Uber Canada argued in court Thursday that Edmonton officials named the wrong corporate entity in its attempt to get an injunction against the ride-sharing company. Uber Canada is the only Uber-related company registered in Canada. Its employees have been recruiting drivers in Edmonton, speaking publicly and meeting with City of Edmonton employees.

No other Alberta premier embraced deep budget cuts more than the late Ralph Klein. Successive Klein governments slashed spending on hospitals, education, the public service and social programming, wiping out the $23-billion provincial debt in the process.

It took a jury less than three hours to acquit an Edmonton man of attempted murder after a 2012 shooting in a downtown parking lot. Ryan Basdeo Kurkut, 24, left court with a jubilant crowd of friends and family Thursday afternoon. Kurkut was found not guilty on charges of the attempted murder and aggravated assault of Fahad Qureshi, who survived a gunshot to the head.